Mourners for Holocaust Museum Guard Stephen Johns Told 'Silence Is Unforgivable'

In the hours after Stephen Tyrone Johns was gunned down at the U.S. Holocaust Museum last week, his wife of just a year, Zakiah Johns, cried to her pastor over and over, "Pastor, I just want my husband back." Today, Johns' 39-year-old husband was laid to rest in a private ceremony, following a public memorial service that included a lengthy police escort, a 19-flag honor guard, crowds of photographers and more than 500 mourners who gathered to remember him.

The day of private heartache and public grief seemed a fitting tribute for a man who was a father, son and husband in life, and in death became a symbol in the fight against racism and hate. His last act was to open the door for his killer, who is 88 years old.

Dr. John McCoy delivered the eulogy. He recalled the day he performed Stephen and Zakiah Johns' wedding ceremony. The couple celebrated their first anniversary last month. "Stephen and Zakiah vowed to love, honor, and cherish each other, til death do us part," McCoy said. "Who could have imagined death would come so soon? Who could have imagined Stephen could fall victim to a senseless and barbaric act as he extended a kindness?"

Both whispering and bellowing from the pulpit, McCoy remembered Johns as sometimes shy, but always full of laughter and with a zest for life. But his death, McCoy said, is tragic proof that the end of racism has not yet arrived in America. "There is an element in this country that still desires for the Holocaust to continue."

He cautioned mourners not to give in to the hate that had taken Johns' life. Instead, he said, they should rise up against it -- not in anger, but in strength. "Silence is not a safe response in the face of racism, sexism, or any of the other isms in this world," he said. "Silence is unforgivable for those who call themselves children of God or even civilized."

Family, friends, fellow police officers and Holocaust survivors nodded and cheered at McCoy's words, embracing the notion that Johns did not die in vain, and that their loss had a greater meaning.

Following the service, Johns' casket was met by an honor guard in front of the church. Officers from the Metropolitan Police Department, the Secret Service, the Pentagon and a half dozen other uniformed services stood at attention as the American flag that draped the coffin was folded and delivered to Zakiah as she sat outside in the June sun, surrounded by loved ones.

Officers gave other flags to Johns' mother and his to 11-year-old son, Stephen, Jr.

Janet Langhart Cohen attended the memorial service with her husband, former Secretary of Defense William Cohen. A play she had written about racism was scheduled to debut at the Holocaust Museum on the day Johns was killed. The play was presented in Washington several days later, as a tribute to the fallen officer. "In America, we take steps back," Langhart said after the service. "But we always take two steps forward."

After the crowd had left the church and silence filled the sanctuary, a lone program from the service remained on a nearby shelf. It included a schedule of the speakers, pictures of Johns wearing his Redskins jersey on game days, a letter to well-wishers thanking them for their prayers, and notes to Stephen Johns that left no doubt about the void his death created.

"I never imagined life without you, but here I stand. I'm lost and broken without you," Zakiah wrote to her husband.

"My Stephen, My Joy, was warm and gentle and full of love," his mother said.

A nephew, too young to understand, asked in his note, "Uncle Steve, Where are you? Mommy told me you went to heaven. Where is heaven? I want to come."